Precious
by Sixteens
Summary: "Sakura, you are special - precious." Sakura had been listening to those words since she was a child but she never believed them. One day, her hometown is attacked and she is forced to leave and face the dangerous outside world in all its beauty and sorrow. "You are destined for far more then this, my Sakura. Your day will come, just wait patiently." AU. Pairings undecided.


_Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining  
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying  
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day._

* * *

_**Precious**_

...

"Sakura, precious, could you please pour me some more tea?"

Sakura stopped in a middle of folding the dress in her hands and nodded. She walked over to the stove and took the metal pot by the handle. She walked over to the elderly lady sitting on the armchair next to the window and filled her cup with nearly cold tea. The woman smiled a smile that made her aging face look almost young again.

"Sit, child." The woman said, gesturing to the armchair opposite of her. Sakura looked over to the pile of clothes hesitately but when she saw the woman's insistant look, she sat down on the armchair. She smoothed the long skirts of her dress and leaned back. She watched the woman silently, wondering what would she wanted with her now. She wanted to finish with the clothes so she could go and practise with her bow. The elderly womam seemed to pick up on her impatience and smiled tiredly.

"You would turn eighteen in a few months, precious." The woman said. She reached out and took her cup. "You are still not married." She continued after she took a couple of sips of her cup. Sakura stilled at the mere mention of marriage. She was aware that by now she should be married and even have children but she had never been pressured into it, so she kind of pushed the matter at the back of her head. The woman smiled. "There are quite a few young lads who have asked me for your hand, precious. Even young Lord Hiro Takashi has expressed a desire to take you as his wife."

"That is very gracious of him, Lady Mei." Sakura responded, no real emotion in her voice. She looked out the window and bit on her lip. She didn't want to get married, not now at least. She liked having her own free time. She was sure once she got married she wouldn't be allowed to practise with her bow anymore, nor would she be allowed to hunt in the forest. She would be expected to sit at home and keep her house in a good shape and take care of her children while her husband was away working, because that was the only thing men did.

"I said no." Sakura's head snapped towards Mei, her green eyes widening. Mei smiled pleasantly, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement. She took a few dainty sips of tea and then settled the cup on the small table. "Sakura, precious, how many times have I told you that you are destined for far more then this?" Mei tone was serious, yet gentle at the same time. "You deserve to marry a nobleman and live in luxury. You are special, my Sakura. You are destined for great things, I know it. You don not believe me now but I assure you - you are going to get out of this small town one of those days and you will never come back."

Sakura smiled. "I like living here, Lady Mei. I have everything I need."

Mei chuckled. "Ah, this is because you have not seen the world ouside the walls of this forsaken town, precious. There is so much more to this world, so much sorrow and so much beauty. You have yet to see the real world, my Sakura, but be patient. Your day would come."

"We will see, Lady Mei."

Mei sighed. "You do not believe me, child, I know. Who would believe the mutterings of an old, senile spinster?"

Sakura gasped. "Do not call yourself such a name, Lady Mei!"

Mei gave Sakura an amused smile. "But I am, my Sakura. Ah, look at the time - I should be opening the shop!" Mei rose to her feet and her heavy skirt rustled loudly as they spilled to the floor. "After you finish with the clothes, you can go and practise, precious. Ah, and if you feel up for it, you can take Arrow and go hunt in the forest. I am craving some rabbit meat."

Sakura grinned. "As you wish, Lady Mei."

Mei smiled and left the room. Sakura hurried over to the table where she had left the basket with clothes. Once she was done with her domestic chores she went to her room and grabbed her bow and her arrow holster. She changed into a more appropriate clothes for hunting and left. Since they lived above the bakery shop Mei owned, she had to pass through it to get outside. She waved at Mei and narrowly missed Ahiko Nakamura, who harbored affections for her and wasn't shy about showing it. He was a sweet young man but Sakura was just not interested.

Arrow was the horse Mei had gotten Sakura for her fourteenth birthday. He was big and white and so beauitful that Sakura wouldn't mind staring at him for hours. He let out a loud whine when he saw her and attempted to lick her face but she stepped back just at the right moment to avoid being covered by thick, horse slobber.

"Hello, you beautiful boy!" She said with a smile. She reached out and strached him behind his whiters. Arrow let out a pleased neigh, making Sakura smile. She patted him a couple of times. "Now to get you saddled. We are going to the forest, Arrow! Do you miss the forest?"

Arrow didn't answer but Sakura had a feeling he did miss the forest. She did, too. She felt at home in the forest. The feeling of freedom and total lack of any responsibilty while she rode on her horse's back through the trees and wild nature was beyond words.

Once she was ready with her horse, she jumped on, positioning herself in a comfortable position to ride and smiled. She ran a hand down Arrow's neck. "Come on boy."

Arrow let out a neigh and shook his large head then sprang forward. Sakura laughed loudly as she wind ruffled through her hair and hit her face mercilessly. She leaned forward and held tightly on Arrow's mane while he ran through the streets, carefully dodging people. A few people shouted after her but she didn't care enough to stop. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes for a bit. The forest was close to where their lived so she wouldn't have to travel for long. The hunting would take awhile though. The forest animals were smart and she had to be extra crafty and sneaky to get to a rabbit or stag these days.

Sakura's mint green eyes narrowed slightly as Arrow entered the forest and she scanned her surroundings. "Quiet now, boy." She said to Arrow. The horse continued inside in slower pace and Sakura raised herself a little to have a better look of her surroundings. She had made a mistake of leaving her long pink hair down and now she had to deal with the issue of having hair in her eyes constantly. She sighed in irritation and tucked the stubborn strands of hair behind her ears. Arrow become quickly distraced by a large apple tree in the distance and Sakura had to wrap her arms around his neck tightly in order not to get thrown off by his sudden speed. She sighed when they stopped in front of the tree and Arrow ripped a apple from the branch neares to them with his mouth.

She jumped off him and adjusted her holster on her back, so she could have an easier reach to her arrows. "Arrow, stay here." She said. Arrow looked at her briefly but a ripe, red apple caught his attention instead and he raised himself a little to take it. "Do not move from here, Arrow." She patted him a couple of times before she disappeared amongst the trees.

She took small, deliberate steps, making sure she didn't make any loud noices. She smiled when she heard rustling at the her right and she slowly turned around. The bush a few feet away from her was moving slightly, no doubt a small animal, most likely a rabbit, was hiding there. Sakura drew an arrow from her holster and prepared. The rabbit pocked its head outside and looked around. It hadn't noticed Sakura and seemed to have decided it was safe to go. Sakura smiled slightly, her eyes giving away the little sorrow she felt for killing the creture before she let go of the arrow. The rabbit made a small squealing noice when the arrow pierced it but died soon after. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over to the small animal. She took it in her hands and drew the cloth she usually used for wrapping the dead from the pouch tied around her waist. She wrapped the animal and hurried back to Arrow.

He was still eating, the greedy horse. She shook her head, a smile pulling at his lips. He looked over at her when she placed a hand on his backside and when he saw it was just here, returned his attention to his beloved apples. Sakura put the dead rabbit in the basket tied at Arrow's right side.

"Come one, boy, that's enough apples for today. Leave some for the next time we are here." She mounted the horse and he let out a displeased whine when she squeezed him with her calves. "Sorry, boy and be quiet. I'm not finished yet."

Half an hour later she had three head rabbits and one duck. She was very satisfied at the her success and even grabbed Arrow three apples for an award for being such a good boy. They returned to the town in a much calmer pace and the villagers welcomed her with a smile as she passed them. She was well-known through the small town for her many abilities. Sometimes she sold the animals she had killed, sometimes she made dresses or the hairs of some of the more wealthy women and sometimes, but very rarely, she healed people. Not everyone knew about her abilities, courtesy of Mei. She always said people would use Sakura for her powers. She said that people like her a very rare and appeared once in a few generations. She said it was what made her special and she had to treat her gift carefully.

"One day that gift of yours would grant you a place in the Royal Court, I just know it."

Mei always said things like that since she was a child but here she was, almost turning eighteen and still in the dead-end town. It was not like she didn't love Mei and that she didn't like living there. She did. She wasn't terribly poor and she and Mei made good money on good days but sometimes, she wished for something bigger. She felt like she belonged somewhere else. She never told Mei that but she had a feeling the older woman could feel it.

Mei greeted her with a smile when she entered the shop. Jiro Shizumi, the local doctor, was leaning against the wooden bar, waiting for his daily order of scones. "Ah, Sakura-san!" He smiled once he caught sight of her. Jiro was one of the few who knew about Sakura's healing powers and had taken it upon himself to teach Sakura about the human body as much as he could. He couldn't seem to the understand that once she laid a hand on someone's body, she immediately found what was wrong and didn't need any knowledge to heal it. She could charge her hands with just the tiniest bit of energy and touch someone's shoulder briefly and she'd know about every single virus or cold or disease the person had ever suffered or was suffering from. "Would you mind coming over to the clinic? I have this misterious patient with an unknown disease that I cannot treat." He looked more then a little embarrassed to be admitting to not being able to treat someone.

Sakura looked over at Mei, who had stopped wrapping Jiro's scones and was regarding the blonde doctor with a contemplative, slightly suspicious look. "My Sakura has other bussiness to take care of." She said finally. She quickly finished wrapping Jiro's scones and handed him his package. "She is a very busy girl."

Jiro looked disappointed but nodded anyway. "Of course, I understand. But if you have some free time, please, stop by the clinic." He smiled politely to Mei and handed her a few yen notes. "Goodbye, Mei-san, Sakura-san."

"Goodbye, Jiro-san." Sakura murmured as the blonde walked past her and left the shop. She turned to look at Mei, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"He has been asking me a lot of questions about you, or more accurately, your abilities, lately. Suspicious questions. I do not want you to be alone with him, especially not in his clinic. He would deal with his patient, he is a smart and capable doctor."

"Well, I hope so or I would feel very guilty for not helping him." She said as she walked over to the bar and put the basket that contained the dead animals. Mei made a face and quickly took it off her bar.

"You have no reason to feel guilty." Mei said as she took a metal bowl full with puffy dough. "Go shower, my Sakura. You smell like grass."

"I like the smell of grass." Sakura defended herself.

"I know but ladies should not smell like wild nature. I bought you a new soap. The smell is very enchanting and feminine." Mei smiled. "It would suit you well."

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her slightly tangled wavy pink hair. "Okay, I am going."

"You would not mind helping me after you are finished, would you? I have this big order for a soiree that needs to be finished by dawn."

Sakura nodded. "No problem, Lady Mei." She climbed up the stairs and unlocked the front door. She walked inside and took of her leather knee-lenght boots. She yawned and rubbed her slightly tired eyes. She dragged herself down the corridor in a manner that would appal Mei. She smirked slightly at the thought and shook her head. Her bedroom wasn't very big but in compensated in cozy beauty. Her walls were covered with elegant creamy coloured wall paper and the drappings of her canopy bed were creamy coloured and transparent with prints of ancient gods and goddesses. She had a small bedside table, a dresser, a bureua, a large mirror and a bookcase. They were all in the same shade of red/brown.

She started to strip the layers of clothing, feeling better and better after each garment was lifted from her body. Thankfully in their small town it wasn't as hot as the Capitol or the larger cities.

She skipped in the bathroom and turned on the water. She decided to brush her hair while she waited for the bath to be filled. She noticed the lilac coloured box at the edge of her basin and grabbed it. She immediately caught the sweet scent coming from the box and she brought it to her nose. She couldn't quite define the scent. It was a lot of scents at once that blended and yet stood out at the same time. She detected the familiar scents or rose, lavender and daisies but there was also what she tought was calendula. She inhaled and sighed when the divine smell invaded her senses. Mei had been right. It definitely suited her.

She looked over to the bath and yelped when she saw it was almost full to the brim. She hurried to turn off the water and sighed as she set at the edge. She touched the water with one finger to make sure she hadn't made it too hot and smiled when she felt the slightly but not scorchingly hot water. She swung her legs over the bath and slowly sunk into the water, flinching slightly when she was engulfed fully in the warm water blanket. She rested her head and let her hait float around her. It was so long it covered her most private parts easily as it floated below the surface.

She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the rare moment of relaxation.

...

Sakura stood in front of her oval full-height mirror, taking in the sight of her naked body. She was small and had curvy hips and good size of breats for her body. She had a delicate face features but the rest of her body was firm and not all that soft due to the hours spent hunting, practising, running around to do errands, etc. She wasn't ugly but she wasn't the prettiest girl around. She was satisfied with what she was in the mirror, although sometimes she had to wonder why she had to have the blasted unusual pink hair and those oh-so-vibrant green eyes. People singled her out ever since she was a child because of her looks. She could never blend in the crowd and while for some people that wouldn't be a problem, it was certainly a bother sometimes when you need to something secretly.

She sighed and walked over to her bed where she had laid out her clothes. She started dressing up, starting from the blasted chemise she hated so much and finishing with the outer part of her dress. She tried to take a deep breath but the corset didn't allow her and she grimaced. There was a reason she preferred to stay in her hunting clothes rather then wearing a dress.

"Sakura, Sakura-" The pink haired girl took a step towards the door but Mei slammed it open and barged it. Her graying hair had escaped from its eleborate up-do and her usually immaculate dress was ruffled. Mei grabbed her by the shoulders, her blue eyes wide with something. With a pang, Sakura realized they were wide with fear. "Sakura you need to go." Mei said quickly. She hurried over to the window and looked outside. Sakura followed her and her eyes widened when she saw the horses galloping down the streets mounted by men wearing black leather cloaks and masks on their faces. They threw flaming torches at shops and buildings and grabbed on young girls or women.

"Sakura get your bow and your arrows, grab some money from the shop, take Arrow and go." Mei ordered, drawing the heavy curtains together.

"What about you?" Sakura asked as Mei continued to push her towards the door.

"I am an old woman, Sakura. They would not hurt me nearly as much as they would hurt you." Sakura still looked unsure. "This is an order, Sakura! Go, I tell you. Grab your things and GO!" Mei looked so scared for her that Sakura just couldn't bring herself to argue. Mei grabbed the black cloak that hung on the wooden cloth hanger and threw it at Sakura. "Hurry!" She said. And she ran. She grabbed ger arrows and her bow, threw the cloak over her shoulder and put the large hood over her head. She shoved on her hunting boots and threw her arrow holster over her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and saw Mei standing at the threshold of the living room, a large butcher knife in one hand. "Go, Sakura, there is no time for sentimental goodbyes."

"I will come back!" Sakura promised, gripping the bow tightly.

Mei's face softened slightly in a smile. "I know, my precious. Now, go, save yourself!"

Sakure nodded, drew the hood further up her head and ran outside. She hurried down the stairs and burst inside the shop, she hurried over to the cashier and opened it. She grabbed reasonable amount of money and shoved it shut. She hurried to the back and burst through the back door. Arrow pocked his head from his small stable and cocked his head on one side. Sakura drew back her hood to show him it was her who was approaching him and he relaxed slightly.

Suddenly there was a loud noise. "Grab whatever money there is here and anything that seems expensive and valuable. Kenji and Renzo,you go upstairs and do the same."

They had entered the shop.

Sakura's heart started to pound painfully against her ribcage and she hurried to open Arrow's stable. "Don not make a sound." She said in her best commanding voice, looking Arrow straight in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. Arrow looked at her with, what she assumed was, a confused expression. She shook her head. She had no time to get him ready, she had to ride me bareback. She winced slightly but hoisted herself up on his back anyway. She settled on his back, although she doubted she'd ever feel the comfort she felt when sitting on the saddle and grabbed his reins. "Go, Arrow. Quick, quick!"

Despite her warnings, Arrow let out his trademark loud neigh that echoed around them.

"What was that? Is someone outside?" Sakura heart loud footsteps and practically kicked Arrow.

"Go, Arrow!" She shouted. Arrow whined in displeased manner but finally started to move. Sakura leaned forward and let go of the reins with one hand to run her hand along Arrow's neck in a sign of apology for being so rude. "I am sorry beautiful boy but you really, really need to go now!"

There was a loud bang followed by noices. "Hey, who's what? Oi, stop her, Ryi, stop here, damn it!"

Arrow rose to his two feet threateningly and then sprang forward. Sakura held tightly on him, practically laying onto him to avoid the bullets shot their way. Arrow managed to avoid them with surprising agility and Sakura made a mental note to give him a whole basket of apples once they were out of danger. And once she found an apple tree.

Eventually Sakura reached the walls of the town, which had been blasted open and for a first time in her life, she left the small town. She looked over her shoulder and her heart sank when she saw the smoke in the distance and the bright orange tongues of the poisonous flame. She gritted her teeth and duck her nails into Arrow's neck, causing the horse to whine.

"Sorry, Arrow." She said, distracted. How could she just leave like that? What if they killed Mei? What if they killed everybody? She shuddered to think what they'd done with females. Was she a coward for running like that? Was she the only one who ran away? Would they all hate her for leaving and not staying to help them? To fight and heal the ones who had been injured?

But what could she have possibly done? She was a small girl who was skilled in archery and had magical healing powers. She doubted_ that_ would single-handedly win against those people.

Arrow whined loudly and she realized she had duck her nails into his neck again. "Sorry, sorry!" Arrow turned around to give her an reproachful look, which was met by Sakura's defensive one.

"Well, I'm sorry but if you had not realized by now - we have left our home, Arrow. We abandoned them to their fates, which are not looking optimistic from my point of view." Arrow continued to look at her with the occasional blink. Sakura stared right back, refusing to lose a staring contest against her _horse _of all things. Finally, Arrow whined again and continued down the road. "Are you tired?" She asked as she laid her head against his strong, firm neck. Arrow whined and picked up his pace, giving her the answer she needed. Sakura laughed softly and hugged him around the neck. "Go, Arrow, blend with the wind!"

Arrow seemed to take this to heart because suddenly he started to gallop so fast, everything around her was a blur. She closed her eyes tightly and a strangled yell escaped her lips but she didn't attemp to stop him.

By the time they reached the point where Sakura couldn't see her town in the distance anymore, dawn had come. She laid her head on Arrow's neck again and let out a heavy sigh. Arrow whined slightly and she looked up to meet his eyes. "Are you tired?"

He whined again and Sakura sighed.

"We cannot stop now. I don not want to spent the night out in the open if I can help it. We will travel a bit more and hopefully we will find a town or a village nearby."

Arrow whined again and started to move, this time at much slower pace. Sakura closed her eyes and did not open them until the next morning.

* * *

If you leave a review all of your dreams would come true! ;dd


End file.
